38TH ANNUAL EXCELLENCE IN EDUCATION AWARDS TO HONOR 69 EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATORS IN THE COUNTY

Sixty-five public school and four independent school educators will be honored on Thursday, April 25, 2024, as Anne Arundel County Public Schools and the Education Foundation of AACPS celebrate the 38th Annual Excellence in Education Awards Dinner at The Hall @ Live! Arundel Mills.

The Excellence in Education event will culminate with the announcements of the 2024 Anne Arundel County Public Schools and Independent School Teachers of the Year. The AACPS Teacher of the Year will represent the county in the state Teacher of the Year competition.

In eight of the last nine years, AACPS has had finalists for Maryland Teacher of the Year with Mary Kay Connerton of Annapolis High School earning this year’s title. AACPS has had two additional Maryland Teacher of the Year winners over the last six years: Teresa Beilstein of South Shore Elementary School in 2020 and Josh Carroll of South River High School in 2018.

Congratulations to this year’s public school nominees:

  • Patrick Alexander, Piney Orchard Elementary School
  • Roxanne Angerer, Severna Park High School
  • Nikki Baker, Jones Elementary School
  • Emily Beer, Freetown Elementary School
  • Jennifer Benes, Manor View Elementary School
  • Jessica Berstein, Severn River Middle School
  • Kylie Blankinship, Chesapeake High School
  • Alison Bowers, Brooklyn Park Middle School
  • Jesse Bragg, Meade Middle School
  • Carol Brinkley, Mary Moss at J. Albert Adams Academy
  • Kandice Brune, Belle Grove Elementary School
  • Randi Burkhardt, Arundel Middle School
  • Kayt Capasso, Georgetown East Elementary School
  • Cara Nicole Chambers, Brooklyn Park Elementary School
  • Amy Chitwood, Ridgeway Elementary School
  • Stephanie Clampitt, Point Pleasant Elementary School
  • Cindy Contreras, Tyler Heights Elementary School
  • Elizabeth Davidson, Crofton Middle School
  • Brandy Dorr, Old Mill Middle School South
  • Carly Ellis, Fort Smallwood Elementary School
  • Lori Fish, Solley Elementary School
  • Kate Ganley, Crofton High School
  • James Grim, Old Mill High School
  • Nancy X. Harmon, Ruth Parker Eason School
  • Kristin Haynie, Marley Elementary School
  • Elizabeth Heist, Lake Shore Elementary School
  • Morgan Heymann, North County High School
  • Amy Hughes, Severna Park Middle School
  • Malia Johnston, Magothy River Middle School
  • Melissa Kratsas, George Cromwell Elementary School
  • Nick Konstantopoulos, Glen Burnie High School
  • Hayden Lambert, Wiley H. Bates Middle School
  • Jamie Landis, Waugh Chapel Elementary School
  • Kelly Leary, Glendale Elementary School
  • Shelby Ledger, Broadneck High School
  • Alyssa Lowman, Mills-Parole Elementary School
  • Colleen Murphy Ayala, Annapolis Middle School
  • Jane Newton, Southern Middle School
  • Courtney Oltman, Folger McKinsey Elementary School
  • Paula Perry, AACPS Virtual Academy
  • Nicole Pope, Hilltop Elementary School
  • Ramish Qutab, Lindale Middle School
  • Andrea Ranaghan, Old Mill Middle School North
  • Debra Roat, Linthicum Elementary School
  • Shannon Riley, South River High School
  • Renee Lauren Robbins, Deale Elementary School
  • Scott Roberts, Corkran Middle School
  • Caitlin Rzepkowski, Tracy’s Elementary School
  • Amy Sherlock, Arundel High School
  • Nicole Shouse, Seven Oaks Elementary School
  • Corinne Shuck Seidel, Broadneck Elementary School
  • Kellie Skinner, Annapolis High School
  • Sarah Skinner, CAT North
  • Samantha Skoczylas, Millersville Elementary School
  • Diannette M. Soto-Barreto, Marley Middle School
  • Tara Stapler, Central Middle School
  • Pamela Stein, Monarch Global Academy
  • Joshua L. Thompson, Northeast Middle School
  • Terry D. Tuttle, Shady Side Elementary School
  • Kate Veasel, Pasadena Elementary School
  • Malieka Walton, Chesapeake Bay Middle School
  • Karen M. Wilson, Edgewater Elementary School
  • Amy Jakubowski Wukitch, Woodside Elementary School
  • Susie Zacepilo, Lothian Elementary School
  • Bridget Zimmerman, Germantown Elementary School

The following teachers from Independent Schools in Anne Arundel County were nominated:

  • Stephanie Danza, Annapolis Area Christian School
  • Clinton Kittrell, The Summit School
  • Tiffany Wenck, St. Paul’s Lutheran School
  • Cynthia White, St. John the Evangelist

Semifinalists for the awards will be announced in late December. Finalists will be chosen from that group and announced by early March.

Sponsorships are currently available for the Excellence in Education Awards Dinner at which the 2023 Principal of the Year and other employee recognitions will be celebrated, as well as the 2024 AACPS and Independent Schools Teachers of the Year will be announced. Tickets for this event will go on sale on December 15, 2023.

For sponsorships, please visit: EiE2024.givesmart.com or contact Chuck Yocum (cyocum@aacps.org). Any questions regarding the event can be directed to Jenn Lombardi (jlombardi@aacps.org).